The New Exorcist
by Child of Spades
Summary: This isn't exactly just going to be one big smushy gushy lemon for teens, but there will be some fluff 'n' stuff. SOME. Doe Shimry is a new exorcist at The Order, which has provided for her a place to belong to in exchange for her Innocence abilities. However, there are some things she just can't escape. Especially if they involve the man with the wide smile.
1. Chapter 1

Fire. Everywhere. There was nothing left untouched by the flames that danced their way through the town. Each lick of fire bent and waved gracefully, almost in mockery of the screaming villagers. What wasn't consumed lay irrevocably damaged and broken. Children were strewn face down like abandoned rag dolls. The sobbing parents were guaranteed to join them soon. The blackness of the night sat back and watched as everything just seemed to melt away, leaving nothing but dying embers to cackle and occasionally spit out their final sparks, as if in spite of what happened. The only survivor stood and watched from far away. What could have caused this? Why did this happen? She was horrified. And yet she couldn't look away. Who did this? Where did it start? She looked over to see a rather large man who stood grinning at her. Him. It was him. It had to be him. How could it not? His face was so horrifying she actually wet herself in fear, the poor child. He reached out a hand to her steadily. No… This was too much… This couldn't be happening. No… No! The fear that had welled up inside of her finally released in a trembling rush. She screamed.

Doe Shimry sat up in bed and looked around the room in panic. This wasn't familiar. Not at all. She scrambled out of the twisted bed sheets and stumbled onto the floor, with her foot still caught in the blankets. She couldn't help the small yelp that escaped her small mouth, and rose quickly to yank the door open with all her might, praying it wasn't locked. Doe's eyes darted everywhere, but she couldn't process anything as she sprinted down the corridor, and ran through the main hallway. She had to hurry. She had to get out. Her hair streamed behind her as she flew past closed doors and hallways. She was suddenly caught by a strong pair of arms that held her firmly as she kicked and bit, trying to get away.  
"Geez, just be quiet, okay? You're safe now, I promise." A masculine voice said from behind her. Only then did she realise she was screaming the entire time. Also, only then, did she realise that she was in her new home…. The Black Order.  
"I- I'm so sorry." The small, defeated girl stammered. She looked back to see a pleasant looking man with red hair and an eye patch smiling reassuringly at her. She also saw people rubbing their eyes and coming out of their rooms. "Neh?" Her new friend, Lenalee was clearly not fully awake yet, as she stared questioningly at Doe. The now embarrassed girl quickly got to her feet, bowed, and apologised many times. "I'm so sorry! Really! Please go back to bed! There's nothing to see here…" She began to mumble as people went back to their rooms. Doe turned to the man who caught her. "Thank you," she said shortly, and practically ran to her room. How embarrassing! It was only her second day and she had disrupted so many people! She was so stupid! The brown eyed girl flopped down on her bed and began to worry as the self-hatred started eating away at her. "_Just don't make any more mistakes…"_ She told herself. She got up and locked her door, just in case she had any more night terrors involving the man with the wide smile. Falling back onto her bed, Doe tossed and turned for a while before falling asleep once again.


	2. Chapter 2

In the morning, Doe rose to the darkness of the room- her room- and stretched. She looked at the clock. The numbers 6:32 were lined in red. Sighing, the pink haired girl stripped the blankets from her body and got to her feet. Because of last night's incident, today would be one of…_ those_ days, she decided. One filled with dreadful feelings and the fear of facing the people she knew she had disturbed the night beforehand.

Doe put on her uniform and examined herself in the mirror. _A uniform_, she thought carefully as she turned,_ is a sign of unity. A sign that I belong to something_. This made her smile a little as she sat down to brush her long, cherry blossom hair. A place to belong. It was something she hadn't experienced in a long time. It sounded... nice.

"Hello there, sweetie pie! What can I get for you today?" said Jeryy, the slick looking chef. "Um... A... Slice of toast and eggs, please." Replied the shy girl. "Aaaaalrighty! Coming right up, sugar plum!" Jeryy flipped his frying pan and returned to the counter several minutes later with her order and a side of fruit. "You have a nice day." He said, winking behind his dark glasses. Doe was amazed at how swiftly he could work. He was definitely talented, and even claimed the ability to make anything and everything. She wondered if maybe Jeryy had some type of special Innocence that allowed him to do this. The young woman timidly took her tray to an empty table away from everyone else, and sat.

"You don't wanna sit there." A voice said. Doe recognised the voice as the light tenor of the man who stopped her from fleeing the Order yesterday. She looked up. "That's where Yuu sits, and you don't wanna mess with him." He flashed a smile. "My name's Lavi. Come on. A girl as cute as you are shouldn't be sitting alone anyway." Doe hesitated. Another tall, dark man, stalked up behind Lavi looking as if he was going to _kill_ him. She stood, suddenly, and grabbed her tray in one hand, and Lavi's arm in the other. "Whoa, hey, I know I'm good looking and all, but you know- Oh. " The redhead chuckled as he was dragged to the table where Lenalee, Allen, and two other exorcists she had yet to meet sat. As she placed herself in her new location, she managed to send a sideways glance towards the one called "Yuu". He didn't look as furious as before, but he seemed to be contemplating something. _What was he thinking? _

Kanda had no idea who this new _onna_ was, and he wasn't all that interested, to be honest. Whoever she was, she was probably weak. Another ass to save in the middle of battle. _As if he would save her. _But his eyes just couldn't get enough. He couldn't help himself when staring at the pink hair that reminded the Japanese man of the flowers that bloomed in his homeland, or the timid face with almond eyes the colour of dark chocolate. But a pretty face wasn't going to get him anywhere. He wondered what lay beyond those eyes. Obviously, she was messed up somehow. Something kept her from being friendly and relaxed. What was it?

…Che. As if _he_ even cared.

"Well, I did come from North America, but I've been in Wales for a while." Doe replied carefully to Lenalee's question. "What's it like there?" The dark haired girl asked. "It isn't as beautiful as it is here," Doe said, "but the natives are very wise. They have taught me many great things." She remembered the elders, and what they thought of her Innocence. They had treated her with immense respect, and taught her of the complex destiny she held. Complex? She still did not understand completely, however, she made a promise to herself that she would go forth. She would conquer this "complex destiny" of hers, and find something to fight for. "That's awesome!" Lenalee exclaimed. Doe nodded and glanced at Yuu again. Lenalee followed her eyes. "Oh, don't mind Kanda. He can be a little grumpy sometimes, so you really shouldn't take whatever he did to heart." The kind female explained. "Yeah, don't worry about him. Right now we should go check on your Innocence. What did you say you could do, again?" Lavi asked. She smiled, as the newly found Innocence accommodator enjoyed the alliance she had formed with both her power, and the Earth to create fantastic things.

As she was escorted by her new friends to the Medical Section, Doe wondered what they had done to her Innocence. "They" promised not to hurt it, and she was sensible enough to trust them. They were, after all, an organisation centred around Innocence. However, she was still nervous. When they arrived, she was surprised to see that the Innocence had been extracted from the small penjing she had carried with her everywhere before, and was injected into two green, glowing rings big enough to fit her upper arms. "Hello there, Doe. As promised, your plant remains unharmed. Also, as you can see, we have implanted your Innocence into these bands for you to wear. When activated, well, nature will be at your mercy, as it has always been. I trust you will take great care of this set, as it was chosen specifically for you by God Himself." Chief Komui gestured to the two round bands on the table. They glowed even brighter as Doe moved closer to them. "Go on, try them on." And she did.

And at that exact moment, a number of things happened. A great light flashed inside the room, causing everyone to fall and shield their eyes. A certain brown eyed female fell as well, but for a different reason. Nothing but darkness clouded her vision. He was back.

The man.

The man with the wide smile.

**A/N I'm sorry that this chapter is pretty sucky :( Please forgive. I will try to update ASAP. I promise. Thanks for reading, you guys.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I'm sorry I'm late, I know! ^_^" But I was working really hard to try to make this chapter longer for you guys, since I was told my chapters are below standard in terms of length. Also, I'm super glad that there are people who like this! I squeal with delight every time I get another follower, review, etc. Yay! I love you all! **

* * *

"So, I see you've finally reached the Order, eh?"

"…"

"Well, now, what's wrong? Tell me, do you like it there?"

"…"

"Aw, come on. What are the exorcists up to, Doe?"

"That's none of your business."

"Oh, really? Should we repeat what you had to go through last time? I would hate to kill all of the exorcists now, but killing a few of them wouldn't hurt any of my future plans. What about that cute one? What was her name? Lena-"

"Go away."

She was testing his patience. He was growing rather angry, and she kept pushing all of the wrong buttons.

"Doe."

"…"

"_Doe_."

"…"

That was it.

She started screaming. "Hey, hey! What's wrong?" Allen and the others began scrambling. Lavi yanked off her arm cuffs while Komui observed intensely. The light had faded long ago, and the girl remained unresponsive. Was this the doing of the Innocence? Why was she reacting this way? She had used her Innocence before, so the effect shouldn't be so powerful to cause her to scream. "What did you guys do this time?" sighed a very distraught Lenalee. Allen waved his arms in panic. "I don't know; it's not my fault! If anyone, blame your brother! He's the one who made the damn things, so why should we always be responsible for-

_**Thwap~**_

The dunce now sat in the corner moaning, holding his head and complaining about the _immense_ power of Lenalee's clipboard.

….Meanwhile.

Her face had turned blue, and she passed out from lack of oxygen. She was placed onto a bed in the Medical Section, with orders from the Director to keep her under frequent surveillance. The exorcists sat and discussed her situation quietly near her bed.

"I've never seen anything like this. Perhaps her Innocence was transforming somehow?" Suggested a nurse nearby.  
"No, she wouldn't have been in that much agony." Lenalee responded.  
"I just don't understand," Allen whispered, "How her Innocence could have caused this. This isn't normal. If anything, Innocence protects its accommodator; it doesn't harm them!"  
"Exactly," said Lavi, "This must be the result of some outside force. We just picked her up the day before yesterday, and she hasn't said much about her past. For all we know, she could've gone through something terrible."  
Lenalee frowned, but thought about it hard. It was certainly possible. She suddenly felt bad about not asking Doe more about herself. But then again, as she thought, she realised that Doe had given more than one vague reply in response to Lenalee's attempt to get to know her. The dark haired girl suddenly looked upon Doe's face with sympathy. She was part of her family, now. And God knows what Lenalee was willing to do for her family.

Komui walked in the room. "I've decided to take her to Hevlaska." He stated. And with that, the pink haired female was taken through the halls to visit the large, legendary exorcist.

* * *

Kanda saw her. He saw the new one again. She looked as if she was sleeping, but she was being wheeled on a stretcher. He was a bit taken aback. Of course, he assumed she wouldn't make it very far, but thirty eight hours must have been a new record._ Even weaker than I thought_. He almost rolled his eyes. But then he realised… _She looked as if she was sleeping_. No wounds. No matted hair coated in sweat, or shallow breaths. _What the hell is up with this onna?_

* * *

"She is strong…." Hevlaska's tentacles were gently wrapped around the girl. "She is fragile…." The ghost-like exorcist brought her closer for a better reading. "She is many in one. Give me her Innocence." Hevlaska lifted the rings and slid them onto the girl's arms. The light flashed again, as did the body of the brown eyed woman. Hevlaska did not cringe as the others did. "This light… Is a defence mechanism from the Innocence. Very few can stand the brightness, just as very few can stand the brightness of God. It should activate only when she feels highly threatened. This is all I can tell you for now, unless you wish to know of something else regarding her abilities." Hevlaska set the girl back down. "While examining, I also calculated her synchronisation rate for you. She is at ninety five percent. Doe Shimry has had much practice with her Innocence, and has been through many trials throughout her years. You may interpret this information as you will."

"Thank you, Hevlaska." Komui spoke, but his mind was already in motion.

He returned Doe to her room, and waited for her to come to. He wasn't a very patient man; however he did try to stay there for a while. He really did. But he had too many obligations to be able to stay there forever. The Chief poked his head out the door and found none other than Mr. Sunshine himself on his way to eat some souba. "Kanda, could you come here for a second?" The navy haired exorcist changed direction abruptly. "Watch this until I return, okay? Thank you; bye!" He ran off.

_Childish_, Kanda thought. He turned to see what Komui had abandoned. Her, again? Three times in one day?_ At least it's not that baka usagi or that stupid moyashi_. Babysitting them would be a nightmare. He stared at her. She wasn't even an exorcist yet. Why were they keeping a useless female under intensive care?_ Dead people look like they're asleep, too._ Was she dead? Kanda reached out a hand to touch her wrist. No, she was well alive. Her wrist was warm with the beating pulse that traversed underneath her skin. His fingers lingered over her veins for another moment before he pulled his hand back. Maybe he should leave. He did have better things to do. Forget the souba; he had obligations, too, damnit! Kanda glanced at the clock. Ten minutes had already passed. What was the worst thing that could happen to her if no one was watching? He had to prepare for his next mission. Kanda quit the wall he was leaning against and started for the door. She stirred. He stopped for only a fraction of time to watch her quietly. His eyes widened. _What the hell?_ Suddenly, he was frozen in place…

…Literally.

_Damn._ The woman was still unconscious, but a giant blast had just radiated throughout the room. Streaks of ice pointed in every direction. And they were coming from her. Slowly, but surely, the entire room was freezing over. _Che._ Kanda unsheathed Mugen and sliced the ice surrounding him so that he could just leave. The raven exorcist stalked towards the door, extremely irritated with the whole experience. Unfortunately, though, there was no one around to yell at. He would have to settle, for now. After knocking the ice away with his katana, Kanda thrust open the door, and found himself staring over the head of a certain cursed kid carrying some weird plant. Allen tried to look past him to see Doe. He then saw what happened to the room. He also met the navy eyes of the man who looked as if he was going to make sashimi out of him.  
"Uh… h-hey, Kanda." Allen smiled widely and scratched the back of his head.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"What are **_you_** doing here?" replied the samurai.  
"Look, I really don't want to fight with you right now. I just-"  
If Allen hadn't moved in time, half of his hair would have fallen prey to the mighty Mugen. He quickly ducked past Kanda and walked into the room. Immediately, the body reacted by glowing warmly. Kanda scowled suspiciously at the kid. What did he think he was doing with that girl?  
"Doe," said Allen, "I need you to listen to me." Allen looked at the ice on the walls and floor.  
"We need you to wake up. We need you to wake up now."

* * *

**_Flashback~_**

_"Allen," Komui voiced, "you do know that we need all the exorcists we can get at this stage in the war, right?"_

_"Of course," Allen nodded."Then you must know that there is a bit of rush in training new exorcists for battle, correct?"_

_"Yeah," he confirmed._

_"Well, do whatever you can to wake Doe up, okay? I want her prepared to go on a mission this evening with you and Kanda, so I'm sure six and a half hours will be enough, yeah?"_

_"Eh?!" His jaw dropped to the floor in shock._

_"Now, run along, and remember to alert Kanda of this as well."_

_Allen's face was still both slightly annoyed and completely stunned at what his boss was proposing._

_"Y-….yes, sir." Allen trudged out of Komui's office to go think of ideas._

* * *

"Kanda, get back here. This concerns you, too, you know." Allen kept his eyes on the woman before him. Kanda glared at him, but stayed anyway.  
"How does that concern me?" He asked with an apathetic tone, while pointing Mugen at the useless body lying on the bed.  
"We can't leave for our mission without her." Allen stated simply. "Che." Kanda was careful not to slip as he approached Doe. He slid his arms underneath her and lifted her away from the sheets with ease. Doe's arm dangled in a way that caused her to strongly resemble a dead body. However, if someone were to closely watch Kanda as he carried her to a completely different sector of the Order, they might be able to see a slight pink tint to his pale cheeks.

Of course, he was only taking care of something that needed to be done in the first place.


	4. Chapter 4 Preview With a Babbling Author

**_A/N:_**

**_..._**

**_..._**

**_...Please don't kill me. _**

**I know how long it has been. However, I regret to inform you guys that this story will be on hiatus until around June 2014. I know, I know. I'm sorry. But I have presented a preview in which I tried my very best to please both sadists and fluff-lovers alike. I hope you enjoy. **

**Also, if any of you are going to the 25th A-Kon in Dallas, I will be there! SO EXCITE. **

**But anyway, please comment, because it really does let me know how I'm doing and gives me ideas for **_many_** future chapters.**

**I'll let you read now. I love you all! Bye! **

* * *

_Yuu._

His dark, endless orbs were the first things she saw when she opened her eyes. She peered in to them, and saw her reflection. But it wasn't as if they were empty. No… His eyes held a depth that Doe felt only _she_ could understand. The pain that filled them… The pain he went through… She couldn't stand to imagine. The rest of the Order seemed to look past this. How did they not see? Yuu Kanda was _not _a simple man. He was bitter and angry for a reason. Did they just write this off as "part of his personality"? No one is born with pain in their eyes. The suffering comes much later, once the light of youth fades away along with the carefree happiness that is no more. It only happens to certain people so soon.

It seemed Doe and Yuu were two of a kind.

She suddenly felt the desire to touch him. Her soft fingers lightly smoothed over his cheek, across the sharp ridge of his nose, and fanned over the other side of his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, then pulled back immediately. And immediately, she shamed herself. _Stupid_. She had no right to touch him. What was she thinking?


	5. Chapter 4

Hello, guys! So, to be completely honest, I'm not really satisfied with this chapter. I apologise if it seems to be moving too fast, or the characters seem OOC, or.. well, I just apologise for this being merely a halfway-decent chapter. It's not a filler. But. I mean. I don't know what I mean. Anyway. Special thanks to BasedJuvia and my good friend Veronica for editing this chapter. I love you guys. Enjoy!

* * *

**_Yuu._**

His dark, endless orbs were the first things she saw when she opened her eyes. She peered into them, and saw her reflection. But it wasn't as if they were empty. No.. His eyes held a depth that Doe felt only _she_ could understand. The pain that filled them… The pain he went through… She couldn't stand to imagine. The rest of the Order seemed to look past this. How did they not see? Yuu Kanda was _not_ a simple man. He was bitter and angry for a reason. Did they just write this off as "part of his personality"? No one is born with pain in their eyes. The suffering comes much later, once the light of youth fades away along with the carefree happiness that is no more. It only happens to certain people so soon. It seemed Doe and Yuu were two of a kind.

She suddenly felt the desire to touch him. Her soft fingers lightly smoothed over his cheek, across the sharp ridge of his nose, and fanned over the other side of his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, then pulled back immediately. And immediately, she shamed herself. _Stupid._ She had no right to touch him. _What was she thinking?_

"We leave in an hour."

And he was gone.

Doe looked around the room. _Where am I?_ she wondered.

Nothing seemed real. She was laying upon a soft bed of green sprigs wet with cool dew. Small trees were growing quickly enough to be seen by the human eye, but slow enough that one would have to concentrate on each branch to notice any difference. This was the beauty of her Innocence.

It was nothing like the dream she experience before waking up to _him_. It seemed so very real. But it couldn't have been. The man with the wide smile didn't exist. _He_ was an illusion. She needed to return to reality. She got up and looked at the door. It was covered in heavy looking vines, but they appeared to have been cut cleanly by something very sharp. Doe pulled the door open, and finally realized where she was. _Eh?!_ She had been in her own room the entire time.

_Oops. _

The brown eyed lady marched off to find someone -_anyone - _who would know what was going on, and who would know what had happened earlier. She found Allen walking down a corridor, looking a bit concerned. He suddenly raised his head to her, and his mouth opened with surprise.  
"D-Doe…" His eyes were wide. Snapping out of his stupor, he asked "How did Kanda wake you up?"  
"…Kanda?" Doe tilted her head.  
"Oh, sorry, I guess you really only know him as Yuu. Well, that's what Lavi calls him, but he prefers to go by Kanda." Allen smiled.  
"Oh." Doe nodded. "So, how did he wake you up?"  
"I… Don't know… I'm sorry…" Doe whispered.  
"Hey, don't worry about it. It's fine," he chuckled, but was then serious. "You scared all of us, you know. You screamed until you passed out, and even then, you didn't look at peace. What happened?"

Doe thought of what to say. But she couldn't tell him. The military doesn't exactly approve of mental problems. And this was a military, wasn't it?

_Mental problems. _

That's all the man was.

A mental problem. Something wrong with her head. Something that would probably go away in time, with proper therapy and prescribed medications.

"I'm sorry… I don't know. It just hurt a lot; that's all I remember." She said.

His face fell, and they both looked away.

She could tell he was thinking deeply about something. Before he could question her lie further, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "What's Kanda's favourite food?" _Oh, no. What did I just say?_ She felt the embarrassement rise up into her cheeks and she suddenly felt very awkward. _Ohhh no… Oh no! What have I just done? Why did I ask that? _

"Uhh… It's souba, I think." Allen held his chin between his thumb and first finger and looked a little surprised.

"Oh, thanks," she replied quickly, "So where are we going?"

"We are going on a mission."

"Where?"

"In the mountains."

"Why?"

"To train you. But we also need to investigate some possible Innocence in a town up north. We need to get to it before the Noah do."

Doe thought for a moment. "Can we take Jeryy with us? And what are the Noah?"

At this, Allen had to chuckle. "Jeryy is a chef, not a finder or an exorcist. Come on, I'll explain everything while we're on the train. Right now, you need to pack something warm."

* * *

Doe nodded in understanding. She peered out the window, where the scenery was flashing by in a constant blur of trees and snow. She saw an increasing amount of brown bark instead of the bright green foliage that she was used to in North America. Allen excused himself to go look for food. Doe looked over at Kanda. He appeared to be sleeping, with his head rested upon his bunched up fist. She stared at him, wondering what he was dreaming about. Was he dreaming at all?

"Stop staring at me."

_**No way**._

_ No way!_

"I'm really sorry! I was just…" She couldn't think of a proper excuse, so she just hung her head and hoped he wouldn't question her further. Yuu still had his eyes closed. Doe wondered why he would just sit there like that if he wasn't sleeping. What could he be thinking about? Yuu Kanda's entirety was a complete mystery to Doe. Not that she had known him for very long, but she didn't feel like she was getting anywhere with him. He was still a stranger that she did not know how to handle. She felt very awkward not knowing how to act around this intense being. _He probably hates me_, she thought to herself. Her melancholy eyes dropped to her hands, and she fidgeted nervously.

Allen walked in sometime later with a few crumbs still lying on his coat. "Come on, Doe," said Allen, "we've reached our stop."  
Doe nodded her head in response and got up quickly, stepping off the train followed by many other passengers, including a certain navy haired exorcist. The flood of people around her wasn't exactly comforting, but she still managed to pull a straight face and follow Allen to… Wherever they were going. A large, buff looking Korean man was waiting for them when they stepped off the platform, waving his arms frantically so that they would see him.  
"Hello, exorcists!" He called happily. Allen smiled and waved. "This is our finder," he explained to Doe. She nodded and looked at him carefully.  
"My name is Kwang-choon and I will be accompanying you on your journey—"  
"Let's go," said Kanda. "We're wasting daylight already."  
"Oh, alright, then." Kwang-choon nodded and led the way. The quartet made their way straight up the mountain without stopping to rest. Doe had never been very athletically inclined, but swallowed her fatigue and persevered. When they stopped; finally, she was slightly out of breath.  
"If you can't even walk up a mountain, I'd hate to wonder what else you can't do." Kanda tossed his words at her nonchalantly. Doe stared at him. Of course, she was hurt. Why would he say something like that? But it wasn't as if his opinions were important to her anyway. He was a stranger, after all. Doe looked at him to see if she could read his expression. He was scowling at her. What had she done wrong? Her eyes fell into her lap and she folded her hands.  
"Kanda, you shouldn't say things like that. Whether you like it or not, we have to train her so she can help us win this war." Allen said with disapproval clear in his voice. Kanda continued to scowl at her, but inside he was merely gauging her reaction. She looked as if she was about to cry. _Pathetic_.

He was right, though. That was what hurt the most. She knew he was right. Her eyebrows crushed together and she bit her lip, with small tears forming in her eyes. _Stupid_. Always and forevermore, she would be a _stupid, weak, pathetic girl. _She would not stand for this anymore. She forced the emotion out of her face and stood. "Come on." She picked up her bags and started walking, staring straight ahead at the endless mountainous terrain ahead of her. Doe did not look back. Of course, they followed her. Her sudden change in attitude spiked the curiosity from both of the exorcists trailing behind her, as well as the finder who didn't bother with telling her where to go.

And so they trudged on. The snow blew up around them, much like the ashes that teased her when-

**_No._**

No.

She would not think of that, now.

"Hey, Doe! We should really stop here for the night; it's getting dark!" Allen called form behind her. Doe stopped walking.

She turned around, and suddenly, her heart stopped, too. Her nose was a mere centimeter away from the chest of a very tall exorcist. She swallowed and looked up. He was staring down at her with an intensity she had never experienced in her life, ever. They stood there, surrounded by the flurry, and stared at each other for all but two seconds. Doe felt the pink rising into her cheeks, and looked away, with her hair blowing into her face, hiding her eyes.

"Excuse me." She stepped away, but he grabbed her arm quickly, squeezing it harshly. She froze again, but didn't look back up at him. Kanda placed his other hand under her chin, and raised her head so that he could see her face He moved his head closer to hers, so that their lips could have easily touched. She wasn't crying like he thought she would be.

"Che." He turned away and went to find that idiot beansprout. Does wide eyes and quickened breath returned back to normal, and she followed him all the way back to the makeshift shelter.

Allen and Kwang-choon had settled into a cave on the edge of the mountain, and had already unpacked and started a fire. "There's no way we could make it to any inn at this point," Kwang-choon said. "It's too dark." Kanda and Doe settled in around them. They ate what they had, and fell to sleep soon after.

In the morning, Doe opened her eyes to see a sleeping Allen beside her. He looked quite peaceful. Doe decided that she was fond of him, in a way that didn't bring anything romantic to her mind. He was… Allen. He was even younger than she, but so strong at the same time. Allen was someone she could admire. He was wonderful. Doe got up and packed her stuff. She didn't dare peer over at Kanda, for fear he might be awake. She looked over at Kwang-choon, who already had his things packed as well. The young woman looked at him and smiled a faint smile.  
"Good morning," she quietly offered.  
"Hello," he greeted back. "I've been doing a lot of research on the place we're going," he said seriously, "and it's not very good. I'm not sure that akuma will be our only problems."  
"What do you mean?" She asked.  
"There is a lot of danger surrounding the village where we are headed. People have reported hearing screams at night, and people crying. Many say that those to go in to investigate never come back out. It's pretty crazy. Everyone who lives even remotely close to this area is terrified, to say the least. There isn't a single person left brave enough to see what's going on. All those that were brave are gone by now; or so they say."

Does wide eyes stared at him incredulously. This was a bit to take in. However, she realised, she had to get over it. She was now Doe Shimry, and exorcist for the Black Order. It may just be a military, but so many have accepted her and welcomed her so far. She thought of Komui, Lenalee, Jeryy, and Allen. She would fight for them. She would go to this fearsome village and defend their honour, despite having just met them days ago. Kanda, too- the stubborn, dark exorcist she still wasn't so sure about. She would protect him with everything she had.


End file.
